Thursday, May 28, 2009

Arrests and Convictions

Robbery conviction

On January 1, 2006, police announced that they were searching for Clarett in relation to two incidents of armed robbery that took place at 1:46am outside the Opium Lounge danceclub in Columbus. Allegedly, with a .45 caliber handgun, Clarett robbed two people and then escaped in a white SUV with two unidentified persons. Clarett reportedly made off with only a cell phone valued at $150 belonging to one of the victims.

Said Jim Tressel, his former coach at Ohio State, "I hope it's not true, but beyond that, I don't know much, but my reaction is, I was sad."

Clarett turned himself in to police shortly after 9 p.m., EST, on January 2, just as the Buckeyes were defeating Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona, the very bowl game in which Clarett last played college football. He faced two counts of aggravated robbery. He was later released on $50,000 bond.

On February 10, 2006, Clarett was indicted by a Franklin County grand jury on two counts of aggravated robbery with gun specifications and five other counts. If convicted, he would be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison. His attorneys said that he denied every allegation, saying Clarett "intends to fight this indictment with the same vigor and resolve he displayed in taking OSU to a national championship."

On February 22, 2006, Maurice Clarett pleaded not guilty to aggravated-robbery charges. He was released on $20,000 bail until his trial began.

On July 26, 2006, Clarett fired his lawyers, William Settina and Robert Krapenc, two weeks before his trial date. The privately retained attorneys had filed a motion two days earlier saying they wanted to withdraw their counsel, claiming that Clarett was not paying their fees or cooperating in his defense.

At a status hearing held on August 9, 2006 pertaining to the January charges, Franklin County Common Pleas Judge David Fais increased Clarett's bond to $1.1 million.This was due to Clarett's arrest earlier that morning (see below). On August 10, 2006, Fais ordered an additional status hearing which was held on August 11, 2006. This hearing had not been requested by either the prosecution or Clarett's defense team but was requested by Fais himself.At the hearing, Fais delayed the trial until September 18, 2006, revoked the $1.1 million bond in the case and ordered Clarett to undergo a mental health evaluation.

August 2006 arrest

In the early morning hours of August 9, 2006, Clarett was arrested in Columbus after he made an illegal U-turn and led the police on a chase in a sports utility vehicle reportedly belonging to his uncle. After driving over a police-mounted spike strip, the chase ended in a nearby restaurant parking lot.

Police said they were forced to secure a cloth around Clarett's mouth after he allegedly spit at the officers and called them "niggers" during the arrest.
According to Columbus Police Sgt. Mike Woods, the officers discovered a katana, a loaded AK-47 variant and two other loaded handguns in his vehicle along with an open bottle of Grey Goose vodka. The police requested that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives perform a trace on the firearms to determine if Clarett violated Federal gun laws.

The officers used mace to subdue Clarett after attempts to subdue him with a Taser proved ineffective because he was wearing kevlar body armor.

Clarett was arraigned on the latest charges on August 10, 2006 in Franklin County Municipal Court in Columbus. During the arraignment, Judge Andrea C. Peeples set his bond on the charges of carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and failure to maintain current lane at $5 million. In setting the bond, Peeples agreed with prosecutors that Clarett is now a flight risk or could attempt to intimidate witnesses in his upcoming robbery trial. Clarett remained lodged in the Franklin County Corrections Center, however, as the $1.1 million bond for the robbery charge was revoked by trial judge David Fais. According to a Columbus Dispatch report, Clarett, who was due to be tried for his January arrest, was in the neighborhood of one of the principal witnesses against him at the time the events of August 9 occurred.

On September 18, Clarett filed a guilty plea to the charges in a plea bargain that involved these events as well as the earlier robbery charges. He was sentenced by Judge David Fais to seven and a half years in prison, but may apply for early release after three and a half years. As part of the plea agreement, the prosecution agreed not to object to early release if and when Clarett applies for it.
On December 14, it was announced that Clarett will be changing prisons to a close-security prison in a single person cell at Toledo Correctional Institution. He will be able to eat with and exercise with other inmates.

He is currently enrolled in a distance-learning program at Ohio University while he serves his sentence at the Toledo Correctional Institution. Clarett is trying to earn a bachelor's degree in Geriatrics and Gerontology.

Blog

As of 2009, Clarett is blogging about his life in prison on The Mind of Maurice Clarett daily; although he does not have internet access in the prison, he sends his entries to family members, who post them for him.

In a recent post, Clarett sums up his attitude by saying about prison by saying "Understand my struggle so you can respect my hustle. I am never coming back here, believe that. Never, I am cool on this. It is first-class living from the day I get out. I WILL NEVER SETTLE FOR LESS, EVER AGAIN. That goes for communication, personal relationships, housing, education, friendships, and travel arrangements. Everything. I have the fire in my eyes"

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